Moon Child
by umbreonix
Summary: Tsukiko, a name given to me by my father meaning "Moon Child" to represent a calm and gentle soul. Certainly the opposite of a certain Red-headed skateboarder I know. I can only wonder how a distinguished young lady with a weak heart- in both senses of the term- such as myself became acquainted with the infamous HOMRA. OCxYata Misaki
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I'm Umbreonix. This is the fourth of my now four unfinished stories. I was hoping to finish Living Ghost first but this just came to me so I figured I'd write the prologue, acquire interest and input and get back to this as soon as possible. Please leave comments after reading! I love comments! *Puppy dog eyes***

**I promise that I'm not going to make this OC anything of a Mary-Sue and if you see it coming, STOP ME.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own K project**

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"Isn't this exciting Inoue-sama?" Asked the nurse cheerfully as she wheeled me out of the hospital. "Everything checked out, you can now go home!"

I smiled at the woman politely but couldn't really see the win in my predicament. I was still confined to this chair, and the doctors couldn't seem to decide how to help me. I was not paralyzed or anything like that, so there was hope. I was just weak, so frustratingly weak.

I allowed my hand to stroke softly through my long, black hair, stopping short as I encountered a small tangle. I removed it with only the slightest irritation, which I hid quite well, "Thank you for everything you've done. I'll be sure to send your name on to my father." The nurse beamed, that was what she really wanted after all. I say this with no bitterness, she was a kind woman with a motherly touch but one must take what they can in this world to get ahead. I was just happy to be able to provide this leverage to those I liked. It was about all I was good for.

We stepped out of the hospital grounds, and when I say stepped I mean rolled in my case of course. The limo was pulled up at the street waiting for me. By this time my character must be pretty much obvious. I was in every sense of the word a stock character, the weak princess, and my father's business partners ate it up. Sometimes I had wondered that if there actually was a way to help me, my father simply wouldn't allow it. Nothing but good fortune has come to him since I've been acquainted to the chair. He has profited well from my misery.

My name is Inoue Tsukiko. My name means moon child and that is who I've been raised to be; a silent and gentle soul quite like the moon. I could never understand what people saw in my weak smile and decrepit body, I had often secretly wished to be more like the sun. Though really that just wasn't me and that kind of personality would give me nothing but trouble as a future leading lady to some business tycoon my father would no doubt set me up with. Men don't want women with personality, or so I had come to gather.

We approached the car but stopped as we heard yelling from down the street. A young man on a skate board flashed by, he would have run straight into us if he had not done some last minute stunt, bouncing off the hospital gates. I watched him go with slight envy of his energy before noticing the baseball bat he dragged along behind him. I felt a shiver go up my spine. "What was he.." I started.

"That's a HOMRA member." Said the nurse shaking her head, "It's a shame to see one as young as him join such a violent gang. No doubt he'll be dead by thirty."

_HOMRA._ I had heard of it, everyone in this city has. I pondered about it as she helped me into the car. It was terrifying to think that I got so close to such a dangerous individual. I was now positive that bat was not meant for baseball. We drove away from the scene but I could still clearly picture the red of the man's hair. I clutched at the folds of my skirt in discomfort, the world was a frightful place.

It was a warm reception at home, the maids lined up at the front door and bowed. "Welcome back Inoue-sama!" They said simultaneously in a way that droned out their individual voices.

"Tsukiko my girl!" My father said as he walked down the stairs in the grand foyer. As always he wore a crisp suit from only the best tailor. His hair was neatly jelled back. "Welcome back! You're just in time for the luncheon with the hospital director."

I nodded politely. "I am very pleased to be back father, and am looking forward to thanking the kind man for the amazing services at the hospital." He smiled approvingly at my trained response.

The maids took me up to my room, no easy feat when it was on the third floor and I was in a wheel chair. They stood me up and held me securely as they dressed me in what I would be wearing to meet the director. I wobbled on my two legs and concentrated on keeping what little dignity I had at these times. They were truly the moments when I felt most powerless.

They held an elaborate red dress up to me and I nodded in agreement to the choice. I thought the red eerily similar to the gang member's red hair that stuck out from under his beanie. Then I wondered with mixed fascination why I had kept thinking back to that man. Most likely it had to do with the skateboard. While I was limited by my wheels he was able to use them to accomplish feats that an ordinary person couldn't. Through only seeing him in swift passing he became someone unreal in my mind. A legendary member of a dark organization so different from my own world. Or so I thought.

The diner was splendid, I expected no less from such a first class restaurant. The man was serious but kind, quite obviously charmed by my weak nature. I found the whole thing a little boring though, if not redone. I couldn't see why every time I was brought along it had to be a fancy dinner, they were all starting to meld in my memory.

We said our farewells and left the restaurant.

That was to be the second time I would encounter the red haired man, as well as be the encounter that would catalyze a string of events that would change my life forever.


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter already, when I'm motivated I'm motivated.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own K project**

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I was a little distracted at the time, it's hard to keep focus when you aren't even given the ability to move on your own. It was much like being driven in a car and zoning out your surroundings.

Several things happened at once but the first thing that I registered was that I was lifted from my chair, quite roughly, and turned around to face several men in blue. Scepter 4, I recognized the uniform. They were running but had immediately stopped.

The man in front had paused in surprise at first but then grinned wildly and began to walk forward.

"Stop! I have a hostage!" Shouted the voice holding me. My breath caught and I could feel a coldness I identified as panic creep up my chest. _Hostage_. That word certainly caused alarm bells. The man was still walking forward and I sent him the dirtiest look I could. Could he not see the severity of the situation? I was a hostage! They'd kill me if he didn't stop immediately.

"Come on Miiiiiisaki~" Said the man in a tone that made me think him insane. "That's a woman. We both know you couldn't hurt a woman!"

Those words comforted me to say the least but I still wished that the glasses man would just STOP WALKING. Just in case. Did he not care what became of me? The man holding me cursed under his breath and fled. Which would have been fine… If he hadn't taken me along! We were speeding down the streets in a way that was much too fast and too smooth to be his running. I risked a glance down to see that we were on a skate board.

The man re-positioned me so that one arm held my back and the other held me behind my knees. _Bridal style_. I thought and shook it away. I had always wanted to be held like this, (I _am_ a romantic), but certainly not in this situation. I could now clearly see my captor's face and in shock I recognized it as the man from HOMRA. I was clearly in much more trouble than I had thought. He had an irritable expression as expected from a gang member, he looked to be a brash if not brutal man.

He looked down at me and turned almost as red as his hair. "What are you lookin' at?" He grunted quickly focusing his attention elsewhere.

I blinked, this was the first time he had spoken to me. I didn't expect him to be embarrassed, I think part of me didn't look at him as a regular person.

"Stop it!" He said in annoyance. "I'll drop you!"

"Drop me?" I asked before looking down. A mistake on my part really. I screamed, when did we start jumping rooftop to rooftop?

He cringed at the sound and hopped down into an alley where we rotated once as he flipped down the back of his board to stop. "I think I've lost them." He said and attempted to gently put me down to my feet. Of course, I fell over. "Sorry!" He panicked.

"If I leave you here it should be fine." He muttered to himself. So he hadn't kidnapped me for ransom? Perhaps he didn't know of my wealth. That was a good thing, I decided to just stay quiet. He rubbed his arm in embarrassment, "If I give you the yen can you find a payphone to get home?"

Well this man was full of surprises. I blushed at the kind sentiment but froze, how did he expect me to drag myself to a payphone?

"Well?" He asked. As chivalrous as he might have surprisingly been I feared he was a little slow. "Y-you can get up, I don't plan on hurting a girl."

"I suppose you hadn't noticed what you grabbed me from." I stated.

He looked at me in confusion.

"A wheelchair." I said now slightly exasperated. His eyes widened in shock and he glanced down to where my legs were hidden under my skirts.

"S-sorry, what should I-" A voice cut him off.

"There she is!" Called a man and I was filled with relief. I turned to the red haired man but he was gone. I smiled at the men running over to me but froze.

I could not recognize the leading man's face, and it was not a face that I would easily forget what with the large scar across the front. He was not a police officer because of his suit and he wasn't any of my family's body guards, my father had me memorize their faces. "Who are you?" I asked.

"Ito Natsume. With the secret police." He said. Flashing a fancy name like that wouldn't fool me.

"I'd like to see your badge." I said.

He growled and two men grabbed me. I tried to wiggle free but if I was too weak to walk I was too weak to break out these men's hold. "Let go!" I yelled.

"I'm afraid we can't Inoue-_sama_." Said the man in a mocking tone, "Your daddy owes us money and he has yet to pay up."

The man to my right cried out in pain and fell to the ground, the skateboarder standing behind him. "Geez, you're just a magnet for trouble." He growled. He tore the other man off me as well and I fell over. He turned to the man with the scar and his subordinates and grinned wickedly while cracking his knuckles.

"Out of the way shortie." Said the man in annoyance. He had obviously hit a nerve anger radiated off of my- protector? Wait, IT ACTUALLY WAS. A red glowing mist surrounded the man and he darted forward flooring the group in seconds. "Tche." He clicked his teeth in annoyance. He turned to me with the irritation still clear on his face. I mustered up all of my strength to crawl away backwards but I was stopped by the cold brick wall behind me. I was terrified, I had forgotten that this boy was part of the infamous HOMRA and was shown just now that he rightly belonged.

He took a step towards me and I cowered. "Please don't hurt me." I said quietly having a difficult time finding my voice.

"I-" He started tentatively.

"Requesting back-up." I strained voice said and both our heads snapped to the man who had then fainted. A walky-talky lay next to him.

Before I had time to redirect my attention he had grabbed me again and we were off. This time was a lot more terrifying. I had probably made up the man's kindness in my head as a way to comfort myself, he was definitely dangerous. As well, I was in a much less secure position being grabbed around the waist and held dangling in one arm. I dared not squirm.

We stopped outside a bar and I wondered what had happened. I paled considerably reading the bar's name. HOMRA. This couldn't be good.

He burst in, me under one arm, his skateboard under the other.

"Yata!" Said the man behind the bar. "We thought we'd lost you to Scepter 4 after you didn't get back."

"You can't get rid of me that easily." Said the boy. Under his arm I was unable to see his face to tell whether it was a joke. He plopped me, quite unceremoniously, onto a bar stool.

The man behind the counter's eyes widened as he lowered his sunglasses to get a better look at me. "You brought back a girl as well?"

Several heads pooped out around corners and behind doors. "Yata did?" Asked voices incredulously. "I didn't even think he could speak to girls." Joked another.

"So how did you manage to hook this little lady?" Asked the blond bartender.

"Well at first she was a hostage to get away from that idiot monkey." Admitted the redhead, "but then she was almost kidnapped by these thugs… I don't really get what happened but I ended up bringing her here."

"Sounds like you had quite the adventure." The man said to me picking up a strand of my hair. _A womanizer_, I thought.

This situation was getting bizarre, wasn't this too… _homey _to be HOMRA? They acted more like a messed up family than an evil organization.

"What do we do with her?" Asked the man who I was torn between calling my captor or my savior.

"Well, a gentleman should protect a lady." Said the bartender, I was beginning to pick up a Kyoto dialect from his voice.

"But we're not gentleman." Muttered the red haired man, "We only take care of our own."

"That's true." Said the bartender, "so there'd be no objections if she became one of us?"

"Your joking right?" Said the redhead.

"You're right." Said the man and the skateboarder relaxed. "Introductions first."

"I'm Kusanagi Izumo." Said the bartender, "and that little firecracker that brought you in is Yata Misaki."

Yata slammed his skate board onto the counter, "WHO ARE YOU CALLIN' LITTLE?!"

"Ah!" Exclaimed Kusanagi, "Careful with the counter! It'll scratch! It was specially imported you know!"

He turned back to me, "As you can see this is HOMRA, and everyone here is a member."

I brought my hand to my lips and peered around,_ everyone_? Even the friendly bartender? "Now would you mind telling us who you are?" Asked the man.

"I-I'm Inoue Tsukiko." I said nervously.

The man stood up, "I see what the problem is here."

"You do?" Asked Yata.

"By Inoue, I'm assuming _the_ Inoue." He said lighting a cigarette… without a lighter. "Her father is a very rich man, who's been into some very shady dealings."

"He has?" I asked, "No, you must be mistaking."

"What does your father do?" He asked me slyly.

"Erm.." I started. I surely had no idea, I just knew that he did "Business things…"

"Exactly." Said Kusanagi. "He's an evil man who has dealings in almost every underground operation."

How dare they? How dare they?! The ruthless HOMRA calling MY father wicked. "You know." I said in a huff, "I have half a mind to get up and leave right now!"

"Nothing's stopping you." Mumbled a man sitting at a nearby table. I turned red with anger.

"Please understand we're not holding you captive said the bartender, "you may leave at anytime."

I glared at the man who brought me called Yata. He looked away guiltily, "Actually…" He started up. "She can't."

"What do you mean?" Asked Kusanagi.

"She's a paraplegic."

"I resent that!" I said, "I'm just weak!" I shook my leg feebly as proof.

"S-sorry!" He stammered and stalked off.

"What's that man's problem?" I asked, "It's as if he has two personalities!"

"He just gets really nervous around women." Grinned the man at the table, "Really he's just like a kid!"

"So." Said the bartender as not to let me get distracted, "We could take you home but I guarantee that you won't be safe." I frowned. "Or we could protect you but we would want something in return."

"Something in return?" I asked in moderate surprise. "Money? I really don't have access to my father's financials."

"Not money." Said the man.

"Than what?" I asked.

"We only look out for our own." He told me. "We'll protect you, if you stand with us in the Red clan."

"R-red clan?" I asked, did he mean that he wanted me to join HOMRA?

"Yes, that's our other name. We're the Red Clan, Sceptor 4 is the Blue. There are actually quite a few." He said.

"You wouldn't want me." I told him, "I very weak, and even if I wasn't I don't believe I have the heart to deal with what you people do."

He laughed, "There's other things you could do as well. Like help out at the bar? We'd find you something."

"I suppose.." I mumbled. "What does HOMRA even do?"

His tone darkened, "For the most part we're looking for the man who shot our friend." He gestured to a picture on the wall of a group of men and a little girl, I recognized Kusanagi and Yata as well. "The man with the brown hair and earring. " He said.

"Oh." I said lamely.

"Of course we also fight the blue clan." He said.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe our leader's are bored." He said distractedly.

"That's your reason?!" I asked in surprise.

"No, it's probably due to the fact that we'll do anything to achieve our goals and that makes us dangerous." He said.

"One more thing." I said and he looked at me expectantly, "What is that red mist that you all seem to have?"

"It's called an aura. Everyone in the red clan gets one from our king." He told me. I nodded. "If you decided that you wanted to join us, you would have to shake our king's hand and feel his aura."

I frowned, join HOMRA? It sounded ridiculous, but, I couldn't very easily go home now with the knowledge that my father wasn't who I thought he was. Plus, if anyone could protect me it was these people.

"Very well." I was surprised to hear myself say.

"I warn you." He said, "The aura doesn't accept everyone. It may burn you instead."

I smiled sadly, "This body is already useless."

He nodded to a man sitting at the bar. "Kamamoto." He said and the man got up and walked to the backroom.

"This will be great haveing a girl around!" Said a man with a baseball cap.

"What about Anna?" Another interjected.

"I mean a _girl_, girl." Said the baseball cap guy pulling out a video camera.

The large man with the goatee returned from the room. "Mikoto agreed to see her."

They all turned to me expectantly and I frowned.

"Are you changing your mind?" Asked a man.

"I feel everyone keeps forgetting this…" I blushed. "I… can't walk."

Once again everyone hit themselves for their own negligence to detail. Two men came on either side of me and indicated to me to wrap my arms around their shoulders. I did so and I was walked over, into the room.

A man sat, leaning back on a sofa with a little girl. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the HOMRA leader. Or the _king_ as they seemed to call him. He had an air to him that made him feel distant despite being in the same room as us. Without sparing any words he held out his hand engulfed in the red "aura".

I closed and opened my right hand and stretched it out to him determinedly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the next chapter! Weee! Thanks a lot for the feedback, I love getting comments! Please comment even if it's just something you liked or disliked about what I wrote. I like to know if I'm on the right track or not :p**

**I just read the manga Memory of Red. Before, I had only seen the anime. I'm glad I did 'cause it helped a lot with writing this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own K project**

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I cried out in shock as the red flame danced across my arm and engulfed my body in a fiery inferno that… was not hot? He let go and I looked at my hands in disbelief. "D-did it work?" I asked lamely.

He didn't answer that question, instead, he addressed the men holding me up. "Let go of her." The men on either side stiffened but did so. I was about to protest, I braced myself for the fall, but it never came. I opened my eyes in surprise and could see that my feet were still steady on the ground.

"I'm standing." I said, and then I said it again, just to be sure. "I'm standing." I took a couple tentative steps forward, then a couple back. In my excitement I spun around once and laughed. "Amazing!" I called, barely concealing my glee. Then I froze, a lady does not act that way.

I cleared my throat. "Apologies." I said in a business-like manner as I turned back to the Red King. "I would like to thank you very much for this kindness, I am in your debt. I look forward to working with you." With that, I curtsied gracefully. The girl beside him frowned and looked at me through a red marble.

He stood up to leave and placed a hand on my head in passing, "You talk too much."

I was left in awe. Never had I met a man with such a commanding atmosphere. The stunned silence was short lived.

"Good for you!" Said the man in the cap, "I'm Shohei Akagi! Let's be good friends!"

"Call me Kamamoto!" Grinned the man with the goatee. Several others congratulated me and I was swept up in the warmth. These weren't such bad people after all.

Yata returned to the bar later that afternoon and glanced at me with relative annoyance, "You're still here? We aren't good company, you should go." He looked away awkwardly, "this is no place for a girl."

I smiled at him, "but I decided to join HOMRA."

He jumped back, "R-really?! I don't think that's a good idea! We do dangerous stuff and the ceremony could seriously injure you."

I got up and walked over to him trying not to smile smugly.

"And anyway, you would have difficulty keeping up since…" He said.

"Since?" I tilted my head slightly.

"You can't…. You're walking!" He said in disbelief.

I pulled down the sleeve of my dress to reveal a flame shaped tattoo. "I've already joined!" I smiled coyly.

"Tsu-chan is going to help out at the bar!" Grinned Kamamoto.

"Tsu.. chan?" Yata asked lamely. To be quite honest I wasn't sure where the nickname came from. I wasn't entirely fond of it, but I didn't discourage it either.

"It's so nice to have such a pretty barmaid!" Exclaimed Kusanagi and I smiled politely at his complement.

"So what are we going to do with her?" Asked Eric blandly.

"I'd say she could live with Anna and Mikato upstairs but…." Said Kusanagi distractedly. He didn't need to finish the sentence, for some reason or another, I had yet to earn the girl's trust. For the most part, she completely ignored me.

"She can always go to my place." Said Chitose with a sly smile. In a flash Yata had given him a swift punch to the head.

"Like hell she can!" He yelled. I stepped back in surprise, he was bleeding.

Kusanagi laughed, "I wouldn't trust this man around a woman either!"

Was no one fazed by the blood coming out of the man's head? I tried not to gag.

"And you're no better!" Yelled Yata, turning his head to the bartender.

Blood, blood, bloodbloodblood…. Blood? Anyone?

The bartender lifted his arms up passively, "I'll admit that I have picked up a great many women in my day but I wouldn't do anything to an unwilling damsel."

I had tuned out the discussion and stumbled over to the man. Is this what HOMRA does? Kills off their colleagues without rhyme or reason?

A hand touched my shoulder and I turned to Fushishima. "Is he going to be alright?" I asked the tall man, "I've never seen so much blood before."

The man laughed gently, "He'll be fine, he brought it onto himself." I couldn't help but smile as well, he was one of the few gentle souls within HOMRA, or so I had gathered. "I'd let you stay with me," he said turning Chitose over, "but I don't think my parent's would allow it. They're sick of me bringing stray things home"

I sighed in relief as he began to apply first aid, someone in this clan had sense.

"How about shortie?" Eric mumbled. "He brought her here in the first place."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Yelled the redhead.

**["A shortie, idiot. You don't even know Japanese?"]. **He said, switching to English.

It took three men to hold the little devil down, "WHAT WAS THAT?!" He turned to either of the guys grabbing his shoulders. "He insulted me right? I think I understood that!"

Mikoto, Who had been resting at the bar looked at Yata with a neutral expression. "Yata." He said, and the younger man perked up, "Take care of her."

"Of course King!" He exclaimed and then realized what he agreed to. "Wait! I-I live with my family!"

Kamamoto laughed heartily, "Come on Yata-san, we both know your parents would be delighted if you brought home a nice girl."

Yata turned red at this statement, "Shut it!" He grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the bar, I stumbled to keep up. I still didn't have the skill of walking completely down. When we got out he let go of my arm, "S-sorry." He stammered.

I smiled at him weakly, "It's quite alright." I wasn't necessarily sick anymore but a lady should always appear delicate, or so I've been taught. An awkward silence fell over us as we walked to wherever he was taking me. I frowned, at times like this he seemed so harmless and clumsy. Though just as you think he might be a decent man, he clocks somebody in a fit of violent rage. He truly was an enigma I did not think that I would ever understand.

I soon found us walking into a very nice part of town. The houses got a little larger and the gardens, a little more polished. I put a hand to my lips and laughed gently.

"What?" He asked.

"I was expecting somewhere a little less… refined? Somewhere more… delinquent-y?" I said. He scowled and I continued to laugh silently. Eventually we went back to not talking. I glanced at his skateboard. He would have gotten home a while ago if he didn't have to walk with me. We got some weird looks as we walked. I'm sure we looked like an odd pair, he was dressed like a skateboarder and I was still in the red party dress from the luncheon that already felt eons ago.

"Hey." He said quietly. I looked up at him to show that I was listening. He continued to look ahead. "My parents and sister… Don't know about HOMRA and I'd like to keep it that way."

"They don't?" I asked incredulously. This was the man who showed off his clan pride at every available possibility!

"They wouldn't approve… Or get it." He said and I nodded. We stopped in front of a clean, white-bricked house.

"Is this it?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said.

He opened the door and walked in gesturing for me to follow.

A man who was reading the paper mumbled a greeting without looking up, "Welcome home dead-beat son."

A girl who appeared to be a middle schooler lay on her stomach on the adjacent couch with a magazine, "Hey, good-for-nothing brother." She said in a monotone voice.

"Loafer."

"Moocher."

"Bum."

The two took turns stabbing at the redhead and I watched with mild amusement as his anger levels rose. "I'LL GET A JOB WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT!" He exploded, "I only graduated last year!"

"Technically it was two years ago." Mumbled his sister, "Maybe one and a half."

A friendly looking woman peered out from the kitchen. "Welcome home." She said in a gentle tone.

"Mom!" He said happily, as if she were his one salvation.

"Freeloader-kun~." She added enunciating each syllable. He stepped back as if pierced by the words, he fell to his knees defeated.

That's when the women noticed me. "Oh, who is this?"

"A friend." He mumbled, "Do you mind if she stays for a while? Her dad-"

The woman cut him off, not listening to the story, "A wife!" She exclaimed.

The father and sister looked up in surprise.

"A wife!" The man agreed.

The two sprinted up to me an each grabbed a hand.

"Ignore everything we said!" Cried the man.

The women nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! He's just figuring some stuff out right now!"

"He's only eighteen! Really just a child you can't expect too much from him!"

"Our son will grow up to be a great man that will support the family!"

I hid my amusement. "I am Inoue Tsukiko." I said with I slight curtsy, "I thank you for your hospitality."

"SHE'S SO POLITE!" Cried the woman in victory.

"MARRY HER! MARRY HER RIGHT NOW!" Said the father shaking Yata by the shoulders.

He shoved him of in annoyance blushing profusely. "It's not like that!" He grabbed me by the arm again and pulled me forcefully upstairs.


	4. Chapter 4

**'Ello again! Thank so much for reading this far. you dear friends deserve a virtual cookie... Unfortunately my virtual oven broke...**

** About the mistakes I made... I'd like to say they were all on purpose but... tehe? XP**

**It has actually been quite a while since I watched the anime, and I had no idea about the additional info that was released about his past although it makes sense. Yata had problems at home and Saru had his own stuff going on so the two bonded and completed each other. Saru got jealous when Yata began to pay more attention to Mikoto and didn't need him anymore so he left the red clan just to get him riled up and so that he'd focus on him again or something? **

**I was confused about the info about his school life and didn't think it made sense. Mikoto first met him in junior high and he joined not long after when he graduated but the wiki said he went to highschool. Though it didn't say whether or not he dropped out**

**Let's just play ignorant for this story. *Winks***

**Oh, and don't worry about correcting these sort of mistakes I make, I take nothing personally, it's interesting to learn more about the anime! Please keep reading and reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own k project**

His room was somehow exactly as I would have imagined: sloppy, dirty and poster strewn. He froze after pulling me in and quickly pushed me back out. "W-wait a sec!" He said and closed the door on me. Really, it was a little too late, I had already seen the checkered-print boxers laying on the floor. My face burned as I leaned against the hallway wall. Maybe I should just pretend I didn't see anything?

Moments later his door opened again and he ushered me back in. He plopped down onto his bed and I chose to sit in the chair by his desk. I fidgeted uncomfortably.

"What's wrong?" He said timidly. Neither of us attempted to make eye contact.

"I don't believe I've ever been in a boy's room before." I said.

He chucked nervously, "and I've never invited a girl into my room."

I sent a teasing glance, "Oh? That's a surprising confession coming from a delinquent."

He blushed and decided to look at a particular skateboarding poster. "Shut it." He mumbled.

"Still," I continued, "I wonder how such a loving family got such a rotten son."

"What do you know?!" He snapped clearly upset. He must have seen something in my expression because his anger died back down. He looked as if he was about to say something but his watch went off. He clicked a button. "What happened?" He asked.

"We got a lead of the colourless king, head to Sakura Street immediately." I could hear Kusanagi's voice made metallic through the watch's speakers.

"Wait here!" He said quickly and sprinted out of the room.

To be honest, I was still bothered by what he said. I was only joking, he didn't have to get uncivil. His tone hurt, I didn't often take jabs at people but something about the friendly banter I witnessed today at the bar caused me to become overconfident. I felt a heavy stone in chest and felt like laughing at myself bitterly. What a little spoiled princess I was, thinking no man could ever get mad at me.

The door opened and I straightened up. His little sister walked into the room casually and plopped on the bed in the same manner he had earlier. She carried the same disinterested expression from earlier, "Eh? So this is what the leech's room looks like nowadays…"

"You don't know what your brother's room looks like?" I asked in surprise.

"Why would I?" She asked, "He never lets any of us in anymore."

I frowned, was I supposed to be guarding the fort or something? Should I politely ask her to leave? I let out a huff of air, I wasn't going to do anything for that wretched man. He hadn't even apologized for raising his voice at a lady!

"So what kind of person is he like at home?" I asked.

"I don't know." She said, "He stopped telling us things a while ago. That greeting I gave him earlier is the most I ever talk to him."

"But you're siblings!" I exclaimed, "If I had a cute little sister…"

"It's our parents fault." She said simply, "They're the ones who pushed him away."

"How so?" I asked curiously, "They seem pretty friendly to me."

"Those jokes carried a heavier weight than they let on. They always wanted him to go on to college and get what they thought was a decent job." She picked up a manga from his floor and flipped through it, "Elementary school was worse, they put him through extra tutoring every day, they wanted him to go to a prestigious university. It would have never worked though, his grades were too average. I think he still resents the stress they put him through back then. They thought that they were modeling him into the perfect son or something."

I bit my lip regretfully, I guess I really didn't have any right to say what I did earlier. That's what I get for trying to be silly. No wonder I was raised to be more seen and less heard.

His sister had dropped the book and was rummaging around the room curiously. She stopped at the only photograph on his desk beside me. I instantly recognized it as the picture that was also in the bar, with the original red clan members. "Who are these people?" She asked.

"Very important friends." I said softly, "They're like a family to him."

She picked it up with an almost pained expression. "So he's got a new family? They look cool, oh, even Kamamoto's there!" She seemed focused of one part of the picture in particular, "He's even got a cute little sister..." She must have been looking at Anna.

She put the picture down and left the room in a hurry. Somehow… I think I hurt two people today. Maybe it would be better for everyone if I just kept my big mouth shut.

I tried reading the manga on his floor as I waited but had difficulty with the order of speech bubbles and gave up. At home I had only ever read classic literature.

I spent the rest of the time combing my fingers through my hair, the impossibly long strands were easy enough to manage when I never moved but with all of the activity today, several knots were forming.

He walked back into the room just as I was beginning to assume that he would never come. I immediately stood up and bowed, "I'm so sorry!"

He jumped in surprise, "Wha?" He glanced around the room suspiciously, "What did you do?"

"I made a rude joke earlier that I had no right to say! I'd only known your family for a brief second!" I told him frantically.

"I-it's fine!" He said, "I was already over it!"

We both sat back down. "Though you know…" I started, "I don't think you're actually rotten. You're very kind!" I blushed and he turned a red that was most likely comparable to my own.

He didn't comment on that but instead handed me an old shirt and pants from his dresser.

"What's all this?" I asked.

"You can't sleep in that dress, can you?" He muttered. I turned to the clock in surprise, it was already well past eleven! I thanked him before rushing out the door to the bathroom. I paused at the doorway, "How did it go? Did you find anything out?"

"Nothing." He mumbled, "It was another dead end, the white haired man our sources saw was not who we're lookin' for."

"That's too bad." I murmured before leaving to change.

I got out of the bathroom with I slight blush, I had never actually worn pants before. They were comfortable but much too big for me. The shirt did nothing for my shape.

The little sister who was leaving her room looked at me in surprise. "You look surprisingly normal without your fancy dress." The words struck me like a knife.

"I see," I said in a dead tone, "Plain, normal, common…" That was the main reason I had to grow out my hair and dress up nicely all of the time. Looking elegant and refined took effort. I slumped to the guest bedroom the family so kindly prepared and collapsed into the pillows. Today had been a crazy day, and I desperately needed my beauty sleep. The last thing I needed now was to break out in acne.

**Well not much happened this chapter but things with start moving eventually, I promise! Please review! I love hearing other people's opinions! It's a good motivator too. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Next chapter! Sorry I'm slowing down a little as school gets more intense. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own K project**

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"AHHHHHHHHHH!" I screeched in horror and quickly put my hands to my mouth, head snapping to the door. There was a frantic fumbling noise and then footsteps sounding down the hallway. In panic I threw myself at the bedroom door in attempts to keep it shut. Unfortunately Yata was surprisingly strong and the door flew open and hit me in the face. I fell back and crawled into a pathetic ball.

"Wha- What happened to you?!" Exclaimed Yata in disbelief.

I looked up and glared at him grumpily, "I couldn't sleep at all… I'm not used to having so much energy. I tossed and turned all night and wound up like this.." My hair was in complete disarray and purple lines were clear under my eyes. I looked positively feral.

He continued to gawk at me and I began to feel very self-aware. I barged down the hall into his room and swiped his comb. "I'll be borrowing this." I grumbled and returned to the guestroom. The room was simple but had a decent vanity table on the wall furthest from the bed. I sat down and stared dejectedly at my appearance, and cringed. I set out to combing out the rat's nest, piece by piece.

A knock at the door interrupted me. "Yes?" I called.

"Uh.. erm… it's me." I could hear Yata's voice. A moment later he walked in and placed some clothes on the bed. "These are my mom's…" He looked at me in surprise, "you're still not done?!"

My brow creased and I checked the clock. It had already been an hour! "N-no… Its really long, and hard to reach…"

He checked his watch and frowned, "you're supposed to be in the bar in forty minutes."

"No!" I exclaimed, "I can't go out like this!"

He sighed in exasperation and walked over. He stopped behind me and held out his hand. I looked at him bemused, he didn't withdraw his hand, he just looked away with a faint pink on his cheeks. "Pass it." He murmured.

"Pardon?" I asked.

"The comb!" He said in irritation, "it'll be faster if I do it right?!"

I blushed and handed it to him. I then turned back to the mirror and watched him curiously in the reflection. He looked up and grumbled before touching the back on my hair tentatively and raking the comb through it. I cringed. "That hurts!"

He jumped back, "Sorry!" He picked the piece of my hair back up, "I'll try again."

His touch had become gentle and I sighed in contentment. He blushed, "D-don't make sounds like that!"

"Alright." I smiled in amusement.

He had set back to work. After getting over the primary awkwardness his expression changed to concentration. His lips were parted slightly to reveal that he was biting his tongue. I wanted to giggle at his childishness. _Does he treat every task with this level of urgency?_

He finished up fast enough and let a hand run through my hair, I shivered in surprise. "You know," He said, "It's really soft, you wouldn't expect it to tangle like that." Suddenly he froze and pulled his hand away. In a flash he scurried back a couple steps. He looked at his hand and a red rose up his face and burned his ears, "What was I just?" He started to ask before deciding to ignore what just happened, "Gah! Be ready in five!" He exclaimed fleeing from the room.

I let a hand run through my hair thoughtfully before walking over to the bed where he lay out the clothes. I had been provided a simple blouse and skirt, it would work. I quickly dressed and headed down. He stood at the door, foot tapping while checking his watch impatiently. "We've got ten minutes." He stated. I put on my shoes and stepped outside.

We walked briskly. "We'll be a little late but what does it matter really?" He said. I frowned, first impressions were everything. This would be my first time meeting Kusanagi as an employee.

His watched beeped, "A GANG FIGHT HAS BROKEN OUT ON SAKURA STREET. GET THERE ASAP!"

Yata cursed under his breath and dropped his skateboard on the ground. Before I could fully process anything I was grabbed and lifted by the waist only to be put down standing at the front of his board. Then we were off. "What are you doing?!" I shrieked.

"You heard him!" He grunted, "Sakura Street now!"

"But why did you take me with you?"

"You're supposed to be guarded until we deal with your gang problems." He said.

"So allow me to work out your reasoning, you plan to protect me from a gang by taking me to a gang fight?!" I asked in panic, I was not prepared for something so dangerous.

"Uh… yeah." He said realizing a potential mistake on his part.

"Furthermore, is the way we are riding saf-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Suddenly we were accelerating downhill. I had used to be driven along this street every day in the past and I had never sorted it out to be this steep. As we speed down, inertial forces began to pull me up.

He grabbed me by the shoulders, "DUCK DOWN!" I did so and he put an arm around me and used the other to keep hold of the board. Finally we began to slow and we straightened.

"That was dangerous! What were you thinking?" He asked.

"I was not allowed the _time_ to think. Next time," I said in slight irritation, "I ask, no _implore_ that you, TELL ME BEFORE I ALMOST DIE WHAT TO DO."

He looked ahead in embarrassment, "R-right."

A loud crash up ahead caused us to divert our attention. Several intimidating men stood up ahead. "This is our turf!" Yelled one man covered in piercings.

"Not any more, punk." Growled a man with a dragon tattoo.

Yata motioned for me to step off the board and then he plunged in. "Actually," He said while hitting one man on the back of the head with his board, "This is the Red Clans area!"

The men turned to focus on him and I held my breath, there were too many! He seemed to hold his own. He circled around the men lazily with red sparks coming out from the wheels. Several tried to lung at him but many missed and a couple collided with one and other. Suddenly, he was on the attack, punches and kicks with the occasional red flare illuminating the air. I smiled slightly despite the violent scene before me, he was going to be alright.

This sense of relief was short lived as hand grasped a hand-full of my hair and pulled me back, I was about to scream but the sound died in my throat as something cold touched my neck and a distinct Cu-click was heard. A low voice said slowly, "Don't. Move." The owner of the voice was obviously close as I could feel his hot breath on my right cheek as he spoke. The smell was foul, he obviously was not a fan of hygiene.

Yata turned to me, "Tsukiko!"

"Yata-san." I said feebly, my knees were shaking and my eyes were watering in fear.

"I've got the girl." The man behind me called to him, "If you so much as move, she's dead."

This man was serious, this man was dangerous. The feeling engulfing me was much different from the time Yata held me hostage. It took everything in my power not to cry.

"Deal with him." Said the man briskly and his subordinates surrounded Yata. The first man whacked him in the back with a pipe and he fell to his knees.

"NO!" I cried. "YATA-SAN!"

A couple others began to punch and kick and all the skateboarder could do was crouch and protect his face. The crowd separated to let in a single man brandishing a knife.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed, I tried to rip myself out of the man's grip but he lodged the barrel of the gun further into my neck and I froze. "Careful missy." He said in a tone that I could easily imagine him grinning.

I could only watch in horror as the knife plunged down. Actually I closed my eyes tight as if not seeing would mean it did not happen. I could prolong my obliviousness for a second longer this way. Regretfully, and fearfully I opened them again. Then blinked. Yata looked fine, a little worse for wear but fine. The men around him on the other hand were collapsed, sprawled out on the ground. A second later the man behind me let go as well and fell to the ground.

"Kusanagi." Grunted Yata in pain.

I turned to see the blond man holding nothing but a single cigarette.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Yata in a pained voice.

"I was just looking for my cute little barmaid." He smiled.

I snapped back into the present situation and sprinted over to Yata as fast as I could with the restrictive skirt. "Yata-san!" I cried and threw myself upon him. He flinched in pain but chose not to respond when I began to bawl into his shirt.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I repeated over and over again.

"It's fine." He said in panic, unaccustomed to crying girls, his hands hovered above me not sure what to do.

I looked up at him through tearful eyes and held either side of his face in my small hands. "You are going to be alright right? You're all beat and bruised but you didn't get stabbed right, RIGHT?" He opened his mouth to respond but I did not let him in my hysteria. I wiped the blood from his mouth. "There's blood! That's means internal bleeding! Oh you're not okay after-all. Then that pipe hit you in the back! What if you wake up tomorrow and cannot walk or what if you don't wake up at all? It's all my fault!" I began to talk faster and faster until he had to squint in concentration to understand my jumble of words.

Finally his hands came down on me in a hug. "It's fine. It was my fault for bringing you here. This is not the worst fight I've been in and I will be in many more just like it."

Kusanagi cleared his throat and Yata quickly released me and clambered up. I stood up slowly as well, still wiping tears from my eyes.

"Shall we return to the bar?" He asked and Yata nodded furiously.

At the bar I was immediately set to work while Yata had his wounds inspected. In the backroom of course, no good scaring customers. Eventually we ran out of a particular brand of beer so I headed to the back to find the reserves. My hand clasped a handful of fabric from by blouse as I walked into Yata about to put on his shirt. A huge purple and blue line crossed his back. In places, the skin even blistered. He turned to me in surprise and I could see several smaller ones covering his sides and chest.

I backed out slowly and fled back to the bar.

When the day finally ended, we walked home in silence.

I was quiet for most of the night, only saying curt but polite responses to his family at dinner. I retreated to my temporary room. Once again I sat at the old vanity table and looked closely at my own reflection. I was useless today. No not useless, a wall was useless I was a negative coefficient on the useful scale, I was harmful. Though what was a sheltered lady supposed to do in a situation like that? I inspected the table finding a pair of scissors in the drawer. Maybe that was the thing. Maybe I had to stop being a prim and proper princess. Could I really change to protect the people around me?

The next day I woke up bright and early and knocked at Yata's door. There was a grumbling noise before he opened the door rubbing the sleep form his eyes. I blinked. "You're bruises are gone!"

"Yeah, it's the aura." He said then it was his turn to blink in surprise "You-"

We entered the bar and I twirled a strands of my hair nervously.

Kusanagi lowered his sunglasses, "Tsu-san. Your hair."

"I cut it." I blushed. The long hair I was so proud of was now only to my shoulders.

"Why?" Asked Kamamoto.

"I thought the princess act was wearing a little thin, don't you agree?" I smiled.

"I like it." Said Anna entering the bar.

"Pardon?" I asked in surprise. I wasn't expecting a complement from the girl.

She rose a red marble to her eye and looked at me through it, "You're being more honest with yourself." She smiled.

"I like it too!" Proclaimed Kamamoto.

I turned to Yata who was looking anywhere but at me, "Me too. I think it… suits you better."

I grinned and proclaimed to the entire bar, (really only five people in total), "From this day forward, I, Inoue Tsukiko, refuse to be a burden!"

The five clapped encouragingly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Weeee an update! Anyway we're nearing the end of this story. I figure I'm best making it short 'cause with most of my stories I get to chapter 16 or so and start to lose motivation. I'll probably update again soon to hop on while the ball's rolling.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own K project.**

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For a week things that initially seemed unfamiliar and alien became ritual. I finally became accustomed to living with Yata although a nagging voice inside me kept saying: _this should not be normal! _Every day we would walk over to the bar where I would begin work. More so than anything else, I too became fully invested in finding the colourless king. I had never met Totsuka, but I had seen enough of his videos during the bar's slow hours to form some sort of strange loyalty to the man. Plus, it was hard not to be caught up in HOMRA's enthusiasm.

Of course, just because I cut my hair, I did immediately change overnight. I was still useless in combat or activities that entailed too much physical exertion. The most I could do was wish our guys good luck on their searches and on one or two occasions, I was able to assist Kusanagi with some of his information gathering.

Today was different from the start, Kusanagi was out on one of his many trips he claimed were "business" so I was left in charge of the bar.

My nervousness at this new responsibility swiftly made way to boredom. It turns out that a majority of our customers were attracted here more by Kusanagi's charm then what we actually serve. Keeping in mind that I was working, I stood with immaculate posture behind the bar table. Yata was a little less talented at holding in his boredom. He became unbearable on days where we've struck dead ends on the Totsuka case.

My eye twitched as he let out another long sigh. I glanced at him and frowned in distaste that he was slouching and resting his head, face-first on the table. Long forgetting to see this boy as someone dangerous I whacked him lightly with a cloth and he shot up. "WANNA GO?!" He shouted and I stifled a giggle as he paled seeing who he just challenged and muttered some words of apology. It was a little disappointing to see that he still had not been able to get past his nervousness around women to communicate with me like the others. Not that I wanted to be subject to his fury beatings.

"Don't breathe on the bar. It's specially imported." I told him wiping the counter with the rag.

"ugg." You sound just like the bar tender." He moaned.

An hour passed by and even I began to lose my sense of duty. I slumped into a bar stool and sighed. "We didn't even get anyone at the lunch rush." I said.

"Don't forget," he started, "this is no ordinary bar, this is the hangout for the most dangerous gang in the city. Most people know not to come here." His stomach growled. "I'm hungry."

"Then why not order something?" I asked in annoyance.

"I've had the wings here three days in a row!" He said. He hopped off of his bar stool, "aren't you hungry too? You didn't eat."

"Maybe," I replied, "But I have a job to do."

"No one comes at this time of day." He said, "even with Kusanagi, and employees ARE allowed to take lunch breaks you know."

I sighed, I was hungry. "Fine." I said. Throwing the apron in the back room I followed him out and flipped the sign to close. "So were are we-"

A hand flew over my mouth and he pointed out the adjacent sidewalk.

"Isn't that?" I started but decided I did not need clarification. His sister, Ai, was walking down the street with a boy about her height with glasses. Both were still in their school uniforms.

"Skipping?!" He exclaimed. "And with a guy?! She should be in school!"

"You're the last person who should be lecturing about the importance of school." I said dryly but he ignored me and dragged me along.

"We got to follow her!" He exclaimed. I wanted to preach him on snooping but my own curiosity was peeked as well. Maybe if it was Yata such behaviour would be understandable but Ai went to a gifted school and was the top of her class in both leadership and grades.

We followed as the couple walked in and out of several stores never buying anything but having a jolly-good time inspecting random trinkets. Of course, we could not follow them in because Yata was much too noticeable with his skater clothes and red hair.

We could only watch from afar as the two spoke and laughed and Yata shook with anger. At one point they had bought ice cream and she grabbed a napkin and wiped a smudge off his cheek. A red aura began to envelop him and passersby widened their distance from him significantly. I quickly calmed him down but scorch marks stayed on the sidewalk where he stood.

"That's it!" He exclaimed, "I'm putting an end to this!"

I grabbed his arm to try to hold him back but he just ended up dragging me along. The pair had stepped into a large building and we burst in seconds after.

"Ai!" He bellowed and around twenty middle schoolers looked up at him in freight. His rage subsided and was replaced to confusion. A middle aged man stepped in front of the class protectively but his knees were knocking nervously. "S-sir.. I d-don't know what you want with m-my student but I'm not going to stand by and let you terrorize a-any of them." He let out a pitiful attempt to puff out his chest but the man's belly was slightly larger than his pecks and his attempt to be manly only made the balding man look more pathetic.

"S-she wasn't skipping?" He asked.

The man almost laughed, "Ai? Never! This is an economics field trip!" Then he shrunk again.

I glance behind him to see Ai who, at this moment, just looked like she wanted to melt into her chair.

"Ai, do you know this guy?" asked a girl with braids.

"N-" She started.

"I'm her brother." He said simply.

Everyone gave him a judgmental once over before wheeling on Ai. "I didn't know you had a delinquent brother!" "Did he drop out of school?" "What do your parents think?" Ai sent Yata a dirty look bridled with anger and shame.

Yata was beginning to get irritable so I quickly stepped forward to the man and turned on all of the charm I could muster. "We are very sorry to have interrupted you and your class. As you can imagine we were only worried about her education. It is a relief to see though that she has such protective teachers at school." I bowed slightly and he scratched the back of his head,

"A-ah."

"Well then, we must be off." I smiled and led Yata out.

"Can you believe those punks?" He asked in annoyance. "Snotty know-it-alls, think there so great because they've been labelled gifted. Who were they to judge me?!"

I touched his arm. "Calm down." I said softly. "They are not as great as they think they are and when they get older they'll realize it."

"You don't think they're better?" He asked quietly and I blinked almost thinking I misheard him. "You don't think they're better? They're the ones who are going to become all those important people you know so well."

I frowned. "You know, I used to think that a good up-bringing, wealth and power was everything." I grabbed a bit of fabric on his sleeve without thinking, "but since I met you and HOMRA… I don't think I could ever go back to how I used to live. You guys are fun and energetic. Being with any of the men my dad tried to set me up with after all this would be awfully dull."

He smiled slightly and gave me a small side hug as we walked. My heart pounded. He had touched me several times before but this was different. How could something so brief feel so different from the handful of times he held me to himself on the skateboard?

I quickly shoved it all aside and we returned to the bar. Having not actually eaten, we were forced to once again eat chicken wings.

Yes the days were becoming peaceful. It was partially our fault really. We had begun to forget something very important. Forgetting things leads to error and error was not something you could afford in the gang business.

That night a crash had woken me up. Seconds later I was gagged a familiar grin caused me to shriek in terror, sound muffled by the cloth. The man with the scar. The same man who was sent to kidnap me on the day I was taken away from my chair. A gasp at the door alerted the man's attention. Ai stood petrified at the door frame. The man motioned at a lackey and he grabbed Ai as well. She struggled in pure fear and panic but the man was too strong for her. "She's seen us, it can't be helped." He said in a low tone. A second later I was thrown out the window, caught, and tossed into a black van. The sister soon joined me. We could only look at each other in dread as the van began to move.


End file.
